Timing unit adapter for the meter of a coin-operated machine



Sept. 18, 1962 M. A. MlcHAELs 3,054,492

TIA/:ING UNIT ADAPTER FOR TEE METER 0E A coTN-oPEEATED MACHINE FiledAug. 6. 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 BUCKHORN, CHEATHAM 8s BLORE ATTORNEYSSept. 18, 1962 M. A. MlcHAELs TIMING UNIT ADAPTER FOR THE METER OF ACOIN-OPERATED MACHINE Filed Aug. 6. 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 l/VVE/WOl?`MAURICE A. MICHAELS BUCKHORN, CHEATHAM 8\ BLORE A TTORNE YS Sept. 18,1962 M. A. MlcHAELs 3,054,492

TIMING UNIT ADAPTER FOR THE METER OF A COIN-OPERATED MACHINE Filed Aug.6, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 /NVE/VTOR. v

MAURICE A. MICHAELS BUCKHORN, CHEATHAM 8 BLORE Arron/vers Sept. 18, 1962M. A. MlcHAl-:Ls

TIMING UNIT ADAPTER FOR THE METER oF A coIN-oPERATED MACHINE Filed Aug.e. 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 /NVE/VTOR.

MAURICE A. MICHAELS BY BUCKHORN, CHEATHAM 8T BLORE' ATTORNEYS Sept. 18,1962 M. A. MlcHAELs 3,054,492

TIMING UNIT ADAPTER FOR THE METER oF A COIN-OPERATED MACHINE Filed Aug.6. 195'? 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 MAURICE A. MICHAELS BUCKHORN, CHEATHANI 8\BLORE ArroRA'Ys SePt- 18, 1952 M. A. MICHAr-:Ls 3,054,492

TIMING UNIT ADAPTER FOR THE METER OF' A COIN-OPERATED MACHINE Filed Aug.6, 195'? 6 Sheets-Shea?l 6 INVENTOR. MAURICE A. MICHAELS 24d BYBUCKHORN, CHEATHAM &BLORE ATTORNEYS FIG. I8

3,054 492 TIIVIING UNIT ADAPTER FOR THE METER F A COIN-OPERATED MACHINEMaurice A. Michaels, Box 538, Oak Grove, Oreg. Filed Aug. 6, 1957, Ser.No. 676,572 8 Claims. (Cl. 194-1) This invention relates tocoin-operated machines of the type which operate for various periods oftime depending on the amount inserted, and the invention particularlyrelates to improvements in certain assemblies of the meters of suchmachines. Machines of this type include radios, television sets, washingmachines, drying machines, etc., commonly installed in motels, hotels,apartments and various commercial establishments.

With the conventional coin-operated machine of the character underconsideration, the duration of operation is directly proportional to thevalue of the coin or coins inserted. Thus, there is little incentive forthe user to insert any more coins than appears absolutely necessary forthe moment.

It is a main object of the present invention to provide a timing unitfor a coin-operated machine which is operable to give adisproportionately greater time of operation in return for the insertionof an extra coin or coins after a predetermined number of coins havebeen inserted. Thus, the user is encouraged to deposit more coins thanhe ordinarily would and receives a considerably longer time of operationfrom the machine in return.

Another object is to provide a dial assembly which may be substituted ina conventional meter of such a machine for the dial assembly alreadypresent to achieve the above advantages.

Various other objects of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of a meter embodying my invention mounted in asuitable casing, the door of the casing being in open position;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the meter removed from the casing;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view through the meter taken substantially online 3 3 of FIGURE 1, parts being shown in elevation;

FIGURE 4 is a back view of the meter removed from the casing, partsbeing omitted for clearness of illustration',

FIGURE 5 is a detail perspective View of the setting lever;

FIGURE 6 is a detail perspective view of the switch setting pawl;

FIGURE 7 is a detail fragmentary sectional view taken substantially online 7 -7 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8 is an outer side view of the lower portion of the switch armand associated parts;

FIGURE 9 is a detail perspective View of the switch control lever;

FIGURE 10 is a perspective detail view of the latch arm of the movableswitch arm;

`FIGURE 11 is a front view, on a reduced scale, of a meter embodying myinvention with the door of the casing closed, the meter being mounted ona coin-operated machine which is fragmentarily disclosed;

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary plan view of the meter of FIGURE 11;

FIGURE 13 is a fragmentary side view of the meter, disposed in itscasing;

FIGUIRE 14 is a circuit diagram of the electrical connections of themeter and the mechanism controlled thereby;

FIGURE 15 is a section taken substantially on line 15-15 of FIGURE 1;

aired States arent C FIG. 16 is an enlarged framentary front view of thedial assembly of my invention with parts broken awayr to show certaindetails of construction, the dotted lines showing a different operatingposition of certain of the parts;

FIG. 17 is a view similar to FIG. 16, but showing a subsequent operativeposition of the parts; and

FIG. 18 is a fragmentary front view of a modified form of the invention.

Referring particularly to FIG. 11, a meter of conventional construction,except for the dial assembly to be presently described, is shown asbeing mounted on a coin-operated machine A. The features of the meter,except for the dial assembly, are shown in United States Letters Patent2,147,937, and thus a description of this meter will be given in orderto make the present invention clear.

In FIGURES 1 to 4, inclusive, the meter is illustrated as approximatelyone and one-half times its actual size, for clearness of illustration.The mechanism of the meter is disposed within a suitable casing 1, thefront of which is normally closed by a hingedly mounted door 2 providedwith a window 3 for observation of the dial of the meter mechanism, aswill be explained, The door is further provided with a key operatedcylinder lock 4 of known type having an element disposed to engage inback of the forward arm 5aI of a U-shaped bracket 5 spot-welded orotherwise suitably secured to one side wall of the casing. Inner arm 5bof bracket 5 projects inwardly of casing 1 beyond arm 5a, and a bracket6 is secured to the inner face of the other side Wall of the casing. Asupporting plate 7 fits within casing 1 and seats upon bracket 6 and arm5b of bracket 5, this plate being secured to the brackets by screws 8,or in any other suitable manner. The lower portion of plate 7 is cutaway to accommodate a plate 9 of approximately L-shape in front view,this plate 9 defining, with the adjacent portions of the bottom and sidewalls of the casing, a coin receptacle which receives the coins insertedinto the meter, as will be later described.

A clockwork assembly 10 is suitably mounted on plate 7 at the backthereof. This assembly comprises a selfstarting synchronous motor 11 ofknown type, which, through a gear train 12, drives a pinion 13 atconstant speed. This pinion projects through an opening 14 in plate 7,and the front of the pinion is flush with the front face of a gear 15-with which the pinion meshes. Gear 15' is rotatably mounted on a stubshaft 16 secured in plate 7, and is disposed in front of a switchcontrol lever 17 mounted for free turning movement on the stub shaft andconfined between plate 7 and a slotted lock member 18 of known typewhich engages into a circumferential groove in the stub shaft. A gear 19is secured on hub 20 of gear 15, in front of and spaced from the lattergear. Gear 19 meshes with a gear 21 rotatably mounted on a pin 22carried by lever 17 and disposed remote from the stub shaft 16. A pinion23, secured to gear 21 at the front face thereof, meshes with arelatively large gear 24, rotatably mounted on stub shaft 16 in front ofhub 20 of gears 1S and 19. Gear 21 and pinion 23 are driven in acounterclockwise direction, pinion 23 normally driving gear 24 in aclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 1.

Gear 24 is provided with a forwardly extending hub 25 on which isrotatably mounted a hub 26 upon which is secured a toothed wheel 27. Asuitably graduated dial 28 is secured on the outer end of hub 26, and apointer 29 is secured on the outer end of hub 25 of gear 24, in front ofand closely adjacent the outer end of hub 26, hubs 25 and 26 being thusheld against appreciable relative endwise movement. A retaining member,conveniently a screw 30, is secured in the outer end of stub shaft 16and overlies the forward end of hub 25, normally holding the latteragainst movement lengthwise of stub shaft 16 toward the forward or outerend thereof. The gear 24 and wheel 27 and associated parts constitute asetting and controlling assembly normally held upon the stub shaft 16 byscrew 3i), which assembly can be removed from the stub shaft endwisethereof upon removal of the screw. Normally, gear 24 overlies gear 21,as in FIGURE 1, and prevents outward movement of the latter on pin 22while also preventing movement of gears and 19 lengthwise of stub shaft16 toward the outer or forward end of the latter. By removing thesetting and controlling assembly from stub shaft 16, ready .access ishad to gears 21 and 19 and 15, which may then be removed and replacedwith facility. In order to vary the timing of the mechanism, the unitcomprising gears 15 and 19, and the unit comprising gear 21 and pinion23, may be replaced by similar units in which the ratio between gears 19and 21 is different from the ratio between these gears of the replacedunits and of proper value to give the desired timing of the mechanism.After this adjustment has been effected, the controlling and settingassembly is replaced upon stub shaft 16. This provides extremely simplemeans for adjusting the timing of the mechanism to suit requirements.

Lever 17 is provided, adjacent its free end, with a tongue 31, struckrearwardly therefrom and projecting into an opening 32 in plate 7(FIGURE 7), this tongue cooperating with the bottom edge of opening 32for limiting turning movement lof the lever 17 in clockwise direction onstub shaft 16. Normally the lever 17 is held in its extreme position ina clockwise direction about the stub shaft, which is its operativeposition, with tongue 31 in contact with the lower edge of opening 32,by a `tension spring 33, the upper end lof which is hooked through a tab34 extending downward from the outer end of lever 17, the lower end ofthis spring being hooked through a tab 35 struck from plate 7 andprojecting forwardly thereof. Lever 17 is further provided with an arm36 extending therefrom at an inclination downward and away from theouter end of the lever, the lower end of this arm being shaped toprovide an upwardly projecting latch element 37. Arm 17 is provided, atits lower edge, with a forwardly offset element 38 which forms withplate 7 a pocket for reception of an element of a setting pawl,hereinafter described in detail.

A setting lever 39, shaped as shown in FIGURES 1 and 5, is secured uponthe reduced rearward end of a sleeve 40, mounted for turning movement ona post 41 secured in plate 7 below arm 36 of lever 17. A washer 42 isinterposed `between lever 39 and plate l7. A timer setting pawl 43 ismounted for turning movement on post 41 and is confined between theforward end of sleeve 40 and a lwasher 44 confined between lever 43 anda lock member 45 of known type engaging into a circumferen- -tial groove46 in the post. Setting pawl 43 is provided, at the end lthereofadjacent gear 21, with two tabs 47 which project forward from the pawland converge toward wheel '27, these tabs defining a tooth elementadapted for engagement between the teeth of the wheel. Pawl 43 isfurther provided, at its other end, with a forwardly projecting tab 48disposed to contact the following edges of the teeth of wheel 27, andcooperating with the tooth defined by tabs 47 for imparting clockwiserotation to wheel 27 in the operation of setting the mechanism for apredetermined time period of operation. Pawl 43 is provided with a stopfinger 50 disposed to contact the lower face of a tab 51 projectingforwardly of lever 39 at the upper edge thereof. The central part of tab51 is struck upwardly to provide a stud 52 which extends into the lowerend of a compression coil spring 53, confined between tab 51 and a tab54 projecting rearwardly from the timer setting pawl 43 at the loweredge thereof. The central portion of tab 54 is struck downward toprovide a stud 5S which extends into the upper end portion of spring 53.A tension spring 56 is attached at its upper end to tab 35 of plate 7,and has its lower end hooked through a tab 57 projecting forwardly fromlever 39 at the lower edge thereof. This tension spring normally holdslever 39 in such position that tab 51 thereof contacts the upper edge offinger 50 of the timer setting pawl 43, and retains the latter in suchposition that the tooth element defined by tabs 47 engages ybetween twoadjacent teeth of toothed wheel 27 and locks the latter against rotationin either direction.

In Patent 2,147,937, previously mentioned, the wheel 27 is provided witha pin for engaging a pin on the gear 24. My construction is differentfrom this. Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 16, the wheel 27 has a stop pin141 secured therein and projecting rearwardly therefrom. This pin isdisposed in advance of, and in the path of travel of, a stop lug 143 onan arcuate cam 145. The cam is fixed to the free end `of an arm 147which carries a second arcuate cam 149 which is located intermediate thelength of the arm. The arm is pivoted by a pin 151 on the gear 24 andthe pin provides frictional resistance to movement of the arm 147 sothat the arm will remain in any position to which it is swung, againstthe force of gravity.

The stop lug 143, the cam 145 and the arm 147 travel clockwise with thegear 24 when the latter is driven. By operation of the timer settingpawl 43, wheel 27 is rotated step by step in a clockwise direction so asto advance pin 141 relative to lug 143, thus predetermining the timeperiod of operation of the mechanism controlled by the meter. Dial 2Sturns with wheel 27 so as to move a suitably graduated scale 62 on thefront face of the dial beneath pointer 29. Each graduation of this scalecorresponds to the rotary movement of wheel 27 during one actuation ofthe pawl 43, due to insertion of a coin, so that the pointer and thescale indicate the number of coins which have been inserted. A coilspring 65, disposed about hubs 25 and 26, is confined under cornpressionbetween gear 24 and wheel 27. This spring serves to prevent anyobjectionable endwise play between the parts of the controlling andsetting mechanism, and also provides friction means for retardingrotation of wheel 27 so as to assure proper movement thereof inaccordance with the operation of the timer setting pawl 43.

An arm 67 is pivotally mounted on a stud 68 secured in plate 7 andprojecting forwardly therefrom adjacent ratchet wheel 27 and at theopposite side thereof from stud 41. Stud 68 passes through arm 67 andthrough a tab 69 parallel with arm 67 and projecting from the forwardedge of a base plate 70 integral with the outer end of the arm. AT-shaped finger 71 projects from the upper end of plate 70 oppositely toarm 67. A pin 72 is secured through the lower end of plate 70 andextends loosely through an opening 73 in member 74 of a movable switcharm 75. Member 74 is conveniently formed of strip metal and has itsupper end slotted and loosely inserted beneath the head of the 'i'element 71 to permit of relative rocking movement between member 74 andelement 71. A compression coil spring 76 is disposed about pin 72 andconfined between a flanged collar 77 seating against the outer face ofmember 74 and an abutment member 78 of a known type, in the form of aslotted locking member which engages into a circumferential groove inthe pin. Arm 75 comprises a lower member 79, conveniently in the form ofa strip of fiber, riveted or otherwise suitably secured to member 74. Abridging contact member is suitably mounted on the lower end of member79 for limited rocking movement on an axis extending transverselythereof. The contact member 80 carries two Contact points 81 disposedfor contact with points 82 of cooperating contact members 83 and 84,when the switch arm is in switch closing position. Members 83 and 84 aremounted on a supporting plate 85 of insulating material suitably securedto plate 7 and projecting downward therefrom. Binding posts 86 and 87are suitably secured to the contact members 83 and 84, respectively, andproject rearwardly from the supporting plate 85.

A suitable electrical connecting device 85a, in the form of a plugsocket of known type, is mounted in a suitable manner in the lowerportion of casing 1 adjacent and below the insulating supporting plate85. An electrical cord or cable 3S extends into casing 1 through asuitable opening in the side wall thereof adjacent socket 35a, and issecured by a clamping device 89 of suitable type. This cord contains twowires 90 and 91 which may be connected into the local or house circuitin a suitable manner, as by means of a plug cap of known typecooperating -with a plug socket member of the same general type asmember 85a. The motor 11, for driving the gear train 12 and the timingmechanism, is, as previously noted, of known type and includes a fieldwinding or coil 95. The member 85a cooperates with a plug cap 96 (FIGURE14) having prongs 97 for insertion into member 85a for engagement withthe contacts therein in a known manner. The cap member 96 is attached toone end of a cord 98 which extends into casing 1 through the same sidethereof as cord 88. This provides simple and efficient means forestablishing electrical connections between the control switch and amotor M of the machine A.

In FIGURE 14 I have shown diagrammatically the connections for thecontrol switch, the field winding of the motor 11, and a motor M, whichmay be considered as the motor which drives the machine A. Referring tothis ligure, wire 91 of cord 88 is shown as connected to one terminal ofmember 85a, the other terminal of which is connected by a lead 99 tocontact member 84. Wire 90 of cord 88 is connected to the other contactmember 83, one end of winding 95 of motor 11 is connected by lead 100 tocontact member 84, and the other terminal of winding 95 is connected bya lead 101 to the terminal of member 85a to which wire 91 is connected.Wires 98a and 98h of cord 98 connect the prongs 97 to the poles of motorM. These connections are effected by attaching wires 99 and 100 tobinding post 87, wire 90 being attached to binding post S6, and lead 99and wire 91 being attached in the usual manner to the terminals of thesocket member 85a. It will be seen that, when switch arm 75 is in closedposition and the prongs 97 of plug cap 96 are inserted into plug member85a, the circuit of field winding 95 of motor 11 is closed and thismotor is continuously driven, and the circuit of motor M of thecontrolled mechanism is closed, and that the circuits of both motors areopened when the switch arm 75 is in the open position of FIGURE 14. Thefield winding of motor 11 is preferably connected in shunt across thecircuit of motor M, as shown.

Switch arm 75 is yieldingly urged into switch opening position by a wirespring 105 coiled about stud 68, one arm of this spring bearing againstthe inner face of plate 70 adjacent the lower end thereof, and the otherarm of this spring bearing against a tab 106 struck from plate 7 andprojecting forwardly therefrom. Tab 106 also serves as a stop elementfor limiting the opening movement of arm 75, as shown in FIGURE 1.

Arm 67 is provided, at its inner end, with a notch 107 defining a latchelement 108 adapted for cooperation with latch element 37 of arm 36 oflever 17, and is further provided, at its lower edge, with a notchforming an inclined edge 109. A switch setting pawl 110 is pivoted atits lower end, at 111, on the inner end of the setting lever 39. Thispawl is provided, at its upper end, with a relatively long finger 112and a short finger 113, the latter being disposed to contact edge 109 ofarm 67 upon upward movement of pawl 110, when lever 17 is in its normallowered position. Finger 112 extends into the pocket defined by element38 of arm 36 and plate 7, and is yieldingly held in contact with thelower edge of arm 36 by a wire spring 115 disposed about tab 57, one

arm of which spring contacts the lower edge of a tab 116 projectingforwardly from the outer edge of pawl 110, the other arm of springengaging about sleeve 40.

Setting lever 39 is provided, at its outer end, with a rearwardlyextending tab 120 which projects through an an opening 121 in plate 7,and a corresponding opening opening 122, in a coin chute 123 secured tothe back of plate 7 (FIG. 4), the tab 120 extending across the chutefrom front to back thereof so as to intercept a coin passing through thechute. Coin chute 123 is preferably tiared at its upper end, as shown,and is disposed in register with slot 124 of a plate 125 (FIG. l2)suitably secured to the top wall of casing 1. The coin chute is ofsuitable size for reception of 25 pieces or quarters, and is provided,intermediate its ends, with an inwardly offset portion 126 disposed todirect a coin c into contact with tab 120 upon which the coin restsedgewise, at which time the coin is disposed mainly above tab 120 and isconfined between this tab and the remote side wall of chute 123.

An operating lever 128 is pivoted at one end, at 129, on the back ofsupporting plate 7. At its other end lever 123 is Provided with aforwardly projecting pin 130 which projects through an arcuate slot 131extending downward and across portion 126 of coin chute 123 andintersecting coin c, this slot 131 being aligned with a similar slot 132in plate 7 (FIG. l). An operating rod 133 (FIG. 4) is provided adjacentits lower end with a bend, forming an element 134 which is insertedthrough a corresponding opening in lever 128. The other end of rod 133extends into an elongated button 135, slidable through the top wall ofcasing 1 and provided at its lower end with a flange 136 `whichcooperates with this wall for limiting upward movement of the rod. Lever12S is urged in a clockwise direction about its pivot 129, as viewed inFIGURE 4, by a wire spring 137, one arm of which engages the lower edgeof the lever, and the other arm of which contacts an element of thesupporting structure of the clockwork 10.

In FIGURE 1, pointer 29 is at the Zero position on scale 62, gear 24 islocked against rotation by contact of pin 141 with lug 143, and lever 17has been raised by the planetary action of pinion 23 travelling aroundground gear 24, releasing arm 67 and permitting movement of switch arm75 into its open position by spring 105.

In order to close the control switch, a coin c (FIG- URE 4) is insertedinto the coin chute 123, after which the button is depressed, thusswinging the operating lever 128 downward so as to bring pin 130 intocontact with the coin and force the latter downward in the chute fromthe lower end of which it passes through a slot 9a in member 9 into thecoin receptacle. This downward movement of the coin swings the outer endof setting lever 39 downward with resulting upward movement of the innerend of this lever and turning movement of the setting pawl 43 in aclockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE l. In this movement of pawl 43finger 48 thereof -is positioned in advance of one of the teeth of wheel27 and the tooth defined by tabs 47 of this pawl is then disengaged fromthe wheel. This permits turning by spring 33 of the setting andcontrolling assembly a short distance in a clockwise direction s-ucentto return lever 17 to its normal lowered or operative position.

Finger 113 of pawl 110 then contacts edge 109 of arm 67 so as to movethis arm upward and, at about the same time, finger 48 of pawl 43contacts the following edge of a tooth of ratchet wheel 27 so as torotate the same a slight distance in a clockwise direction. In thecontinued upward movement of pawl 110, arm 67 is raised, thus moving theswitch arm 75 into switch closing position, and the inner end of arm 67contacts the lower end of arm 36, swinging lever 17 a short distance ina counterclockwise direction against the tension of spring 33 untillatch element 103 of arm 67 passes above latch element 37 of arm 36, atwhich time lever 17 is again returned to its lowermost position with asnap action by tension spring 33 so as to engage latch element 37beneath latch element 168, thus locking the switch arm 75' in closedposition. If thereafter lever 39 is actuated to move pawl 110 upward,arm 67 may be raised slightly, this being permitted by the loose andresilient connections between arms 67 and 75, previously referred to,but arm 67 is retained in switch closing position so long as lever 17remains in its lowered position. This closes the circuit of motor 11,setting the meter in operation and the motor M in operation.

When the coin c passes beyond tab 120 of lever 39, this lever isreturned to its normal position by tension spring 56. In the returnmovement of the lever 39, the tabs 47 of pawl 43 engage between twoadjacent teeth of wheel Z7, advancing the wheel the remaining one-halfof a space of the scale 62, and then locking wheel 27 against rotation.In this manner, wheel 27 is advanced one full space of the scale uponinsertion of a coin. Likewise, wheel 27 is advanced a correspondingdistance for the insertion of each additional coin. The arrangement issuch that if one, two or three quarters are inserted and the button 135depressed, after each quarter is inserted, the dial '2S will be advancedin a clockwise direction, as the parts are shown in FIG. l, amountsproportional to the number of the coins inserted to bring the stop pin141 toward the upper end of the inner face of the cam 149. However, thestop pin will not engage the cam during any one of these operations, orat least only engage the cam an cxtent not causing any undesiredmovement of the arm 147.

If four quarters are inserted, however, the pin 141 will be moved intoengagement with the inner face of the cam 149 to swing the arm 147 in aclockwise direction to the dotted line position shown and against alimit pin 153. This movement of the arm locates the stop lug 143 so thatits path of travel is outwardly of the pin 141. As mentioned previously,the electric motor 11 of the meter will drive the gear 24 in a clockwisedirection so that it tends to follow the movement of the dial 28 and`thus the gear will be driven around in a clockwise direction but thestop lug 143 will pass above or outwardly of the pin 141.

As the gear 24 continues to rotate, the cam 149 will eventually becarried around until the outer face thereof engages the pin 141 to camthe arm 147 inwardly to a position against a limit pin 155, as shown inFiG. 17. This position is inwardly of the full line position shown inFIG. 16. As the gear continues in its clockwise movement, the pin 141will engage the inner face orf the cam 145 intermediate the endsthereof. The center of the `arc of the cam 145 is located to the rightof `the shaft 16 as the parts are shown in FIG. 16. Thus, as the gearrotates farther, the stop pin pushes outwardly against the cam to swingthe arm outwardly slightly to the FIG. 16 full line position until thestop lug 143 engages the pin to dispose the dial and gear in their restpositions.

The slight outward movement of the lever, mentioned above, is necessaryin order that the cam 149 be so positioned relative to the pin 141 that`the pin will engage the inner face of the cam when the pin is movedclockwise an extent to bring the pin into contact with the cam, ratherthan pass over the outer face of the cam, as it would otherwise do.

It is pointed out that when the cycle of operation above described iscompleted, the pin 141 is left in its FIG. 17 position so that thegraduation on the dial is disposed in a position clockwise of its FIG. lposition, and will so remain until the machine is subsequently operated.

The machine has now completed its cycle of operation and vfor fourquarters, the machine has operated for a period of time greatly inexcess of that which results from inserting three quarters. This largetime period may run the machine for the entire day or for whateverperiod of time is desired, whether it be minutes, hours, days, weeks ormonths.

FIG. 1S shows a modified for-m of the invention in which the cams 1455:and 149@ are iixed to the gear 24a while the stop pin 141g is carried onan arm 147a pivoted at 151a on ya gear like gear 27, not shown, butwhich is disposed just behind the dial 23a. The operation of this formof the invention is very similar to `that of the previous form exceptthat it is the stop pin which is shifted back and forth because of itsengagement with the cams instead of the came being shifted.

Briefly, when the gear on which pin 141a is mounted is rotated an extentto bring the pin 141:1 into engagement with the inner face of the cam14951, the arm 147er and thus the pin 141er are shifted inwardly so thatwhen the gear 24a is rotated to follow the pin, the stop lug 143a passesover the pin and allows the machine to run for one full revolution plusfour graduations of the dial. Before the lug 143a again engages the pin141er, the outer face of the cam 149e pushes the -pin outwardly and theinner face of the cam 14551 pushes the pin slightly inwardly properly toposition the pin for engagement with the inner face of the cam 149a whenthe machine is operated subsequently.

Although the invention has been illustrated to indicate that it is `fourquarters that will cause the long period of operation of the machine,obviously, this is merely illus- -trative both as to the coin referredto and as to the quantity of coins. Also, in the form of the inventiondescribed, the dial is allowed to rotate a full revolution after thestop lug 143 misses the stop pin 141, but the dial may be equipped withmultiple stop pins if desired, particularly whent he gear ratio of thegears in the gear train causes only very slow movement of the gear 24.It is further pointed out that the pointer 29 and the graduations on thedial may be eliminated if desired. Also, while the conventional machineto which the present invention is applied has an electric motor,obviously, the present invention can be applied to machines havingspring motors and other types of motors if desired. It is furtherpointed `out that the limit pins 15S and 153 can be eliminated ifdesired since they are actually only a safety factor.

The dial 28, the gear 27, the gear 24 and the special stop meanstherebetween constitute a dial assembly which may be substituted for thecorresponding dial, two gears and stop means of the conventional meterof the type shown in the Thompson Patent 2,147,937. It is pointed outthat the later stop means is of simple form in which the gear has afixed stop which engages a fixed stop on the dial to give purelyproportional time periods in return for the value of the coins inserted.

While the invention has been described with the assumption that droppingcoins in the chtite 123 and depressing the button initiates Operation ofthe machine A, some machines have control switches of their own whichmust also be closed to initiate operation of the machine. In this lattertype of machine, depression of the button l135 conditions the machinefor operation. The switch in the machine would also control theoperation of the motor 11, so that the motor would not be energizeduntil both switch 81, S2 and the machine switch were closed.

Having described the invention in what is considered to be the preferredembodiment thereof, it is desired that it be understood that theinvention is not to be limited other than yby the provisions of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. A bargain type timing unit for determining the duration of operationof a coin-controlled device, comprising a first member, a second movablemember disposed in cooperative relation to said first member and havinga predetermined rest position relative to said rst member, means formoving said first member from such rest position an amount proportionalto the number of the coins inserted into said coin-controlled device andfor simultaneously initiating operation of said coin-controlled device,means for causing said second member to move at a predetermined rate inthe same direction as said first member, stop means between said membersfor normally stopping said second member after it has duplicated themovement of said first member, means responsive to the stopping of saidsecond member for terminating operation of said coin-controlled device,and means responsive to the insertion in said device of coins of apredetermined number greater than the lowest number necessary toinitiate operation of said unit for temporarily inactivating said stopmeans to permit movement of said second member past such rest positionand give a substantially greater time of operation for suchpredetermined number of coins than for a lesser number of coins.

2. A bargain type timing unit for determining the duration of operationof a coin-controlled device, comprising a first member, a second movablemember disposed in cooperative relation to said first member and havinga predetermined rest position relative to said first member, means formoving said first member from such rest position an amount proportionalto the number of the coins inserted into said coin-controlled device andfor simultaneously initiating `operation of said coin-controlled device,means for causing said second member to move at a predetermined rate inthe same direction as said first member, stop means between said membersfor normally stopping said second member after it has duplicated themovement of said first member, means responsive to the stopping of saidsecond member for terminating operation of said coincontrolled device,and means responsive to the insertion in said device of a predeterminednumber of coins greater than the lowest number necessary to initiateoperation of said unit for temporarily inactivating said stop means topermit movement of said second member past such rest position and give asubstantially greater time of operation for such predetermined number ofcoins than for a lesser number of coins, and then operable to reactivatesaid stop means.

3. A timing unit for determining the duration of operation of acoin-controlled device, comprising a first rotary member, a secondrotary member disposed in cooperative relation to said first member andhaving a predetermined rest position relative to said first member,means for moving said first member from such rest position an amountproportional to the number of the coins inserted into saidcoin-controlled device and for simultaneously initiating operation ofsaid coin-controlled device, means responsive to movement of said rstmember from such rest position for causing said second member to move ata predetermined rate in the same direction as said first member, stopmeans between said members for normally stopping said second memberafter it has duplicated the movement of said first member, meansresponsive to the stopping of said second member for terminatingoperation of said coincontrolled device, and means responsive to theinsertion in said device of a predetermined number of coins greater thanthe lowest number necessary to initiate operation of said unit fortemporarily inactivating said stop means to permit movement of saidsecond member past such rest position and give 4a substantially greatertime of operation for such predetermined number of coins than for alesser number of coins.

4. A timing unit for determining the duration of operation of acoin-controlled device, comprising a rst rotary member, a second rotarymember disposed in cooperative relation to said first member and havinga predetermined rest position relative to said first member, means formoving said first member from such rest position an amount proportionalto the number of the coins inserted into said coin-controlled device andfor simultaneously initiating operation of said coin-controlled device,means responsive to movement of said first member from such restposition for causing said second member to move at a predetermined ratein the same direction as said first member, stop means between saidmembers for normally stopping said second member after it has duplicatedthe movement of said first member, means responsive to the stopping ofsaid second member for terminating operation of said coin-controlleddevice, and means responsive to the insertion in said device of apredetermined number of coins greater than the lowest number necessaryto initiate operation of said unit for temporarily inactivating saidstop means to permit movement of said second member past such restposition and give a substantially greater time of operation for suchpredetermined number of coins than for a lesser number of coins, andthen being operable to reactivate said stop means before said secondmember again reaches said rest position.

5. In combination, a first movable member, a second movable memberdisposed in cooperative relation to said first member and having apredetermined rest position relative to said first member, actuatablemeans, means responsive to one or more actuations of said actuatablemeans `for moving said first member from such rest position an amountproportional to the number of actuations of said actuatable means, meansresponsive to movement of said first member from such rest position forcausing said second member to move at a predetermined rate in the samedirection as said first member, stop means between said members fornormally stopping said second member after it has duplicated themovement of said first member, and means responsive to a predeterminednumber of actuations of said actuatable means greater than the lowestnumber necessary to initiate operation of said unit for temporarilyinactivating said stop means to permit movement of said second memberpast such rest position and give a substantially greater time ofmovement of said second member for such predetermined number ofactuations than for lesser numbers of actuations.

6. In combination, a first rotary member, a second rotary memberdisposed in cooperative relation to said first member and having apredetermined rest position relative to said first member, actuatablemeans, means responsive to one or more actuations of said actuatablemeans for moving said first member from such rest position an Vamountproportional to the number of actuations of said actuatable means, meansresponsive to movement of said first member from such rest position forcausing said second member to move at a predetermined rate in the samedirection as said first member, stop means between said members fornormally stopping said second member after it has duplicated themovement of said first member, and means responsive to a predeterminednumber of actuations of said actuatable means greater than the lowestnumber necessary to initiate operation of said unit for temporarilyinactivating said stop means to permit movement of said second memberpast such rest position and give a substantially greater time ofmovement of said second member for such predetermined number ofactuations than for lesser numbers of actuations.

7. A timing unit for determining the dur-ation of operation of acoin-operated device, comprising a first rotary member, a second rotarymember having a predetermined rest position relative to said firstmember, means for moving said first member from such rest position anamount proportional to the number of the coins inserted into saidcoin-operated device and for simultaneously initiating operation of saidcoin-operated device, means for causing said second member to move at apredetermined rate in the same direction as said rst member, stop meansbetween said members for normally stopping said second member after ithas duplicated the movement of said first member, means responsive tothe stopping of said second member for terminating operation of saidcoin-operated device, said stop means including a pin on one member anda stop on the other member, cam means on said other member in fixedrelation to said stop, said pin constituting one part of a movementcontrol system and said cam means and stop constituting another part,one of such parts being 1 il mounted on its member for movement withrespect thereto, said cam means being engaged by said pin when saidiirst member is moved beyond a predetermined point to shift said pin andstop relative to one another so that they are out of register to permitsaid first member to move past said rest position.

8. in a machine of the type including a timing unit assembly having arst rotary member adapted to be incrementally advanced to commence theoperation of a machine, a second rotary member to be driven at apredetermined rate in the same direction as the movement of the firstrotary member to determine the period of operation of the machine, andmeans responsive to the stopping of said second mem-ber to terminateoperation of said machine, the improvement comprising stop `meansbetween said members for normally stopping said second member after ithas duplicated the movement of said rst member, and means responsive tothe movement of said rst member an amount greater than a predeterminedamount for temporarily inactivating said stop means to permit movementof said second member past the position where it would duplicate themovement of said first member thereby to increase the period ofoperation of said machine.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,051,952 Larson Aug. 25, 1936 2,147,937 Thompson Feb. 21, 19392,147,941 Woodward Feb. 21, 1939 2,217,845 Mueller Oct. l5, 19402,612,975 Gallagher Oct. 7, 1952 2,635,731 Dolman Apr. 21, 1953

